Hood latch and operating means therefor



June 16,1942. R. HILL ETAL HOOD LATCH AND OPERATING MEANS THEREFOR Filed Jan. 4, 1941 4 Sheets-Shef l June 16, 1942.

R. HILL ETAL HOOD LATCH AND OPERATING MEANS THEREFOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 4, 1941 fie fan; JEZmZazzd a e?" rauae Jztorneyi June 16, 1942. YR. HILL m1. 2,286,736

HOOD LATCH AND OPERATING MEANS THEREFOR Filed Jan. 4, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 .272 W??? for: fi a w iawd 1327/ June 16, 1942. R. HILL ETAL 2,286,736

HOOD LATCH AND OPERATING MEANS THEREFOR Filed Jan. 4, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IIII'III'IIIIIIIIIIL Patented June 16, 1942 uurrso STTES- AT T FFEQ HOOD LATCH AND OPERATING MEANS THEREFOR Rowland Hill and Walter H. Krause, Chicago, Ill., assignors to Chicago Forging & Manufacturing Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application January 4, 1941 Serial No. 373,108 5 Claims. (01. 292-471) which the hood closure is hinged or movably mounted at its rear end in such fashion that the forward end may be swung up to give access to the parts within the hood. 7

One purpose is the provision of an improved type of latch for an alligator hood closure in which the latch may initially be released only from within the car.

Another purpose is the provision of improved connecting means between the latch and the internally operable actuating or releasing means therefor.

Another purpose is the provision of an improved latch structure operable by remote control within the car.

Another purpose is the provision of connecting means between the latch actuating lever and the tension connection for actuating the latch actuating lever, which shall be easy to apply on the assembly line, with a maximum of ease and the minimum of time.

Another purpose is the provision of an improved latch which yields more freely to the camming action of the keeper, which may if desired be of spearhead shape, when the closure is lowered' to closing position.

Other purposes will appear from time to time in the course of the specification and claims.

We illustrate our invention more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation with parts broken away;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a detail;

Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 2, seen from the direction of the arrows in Fig. 2;

Fig. '7 is a section on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9--9 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 10 is a bottom plan View of a variant form:

Fig. 11 is a partial view similar to Fig. 10, with the parts in a different position;

Fig. 12 is a section on the line |2--l2 of Fig. 10; i

Fig. 13 is a latch detail;

Fig. 14 is a section on the line [4-H of Fig. 12;

Fig. 15 is a view similar to Fig. 10, illustrating a further variation;

Fig. 16 is a section on the line Iii-l6 of Fig. 15; and

Fig. 1'7 is a latch detail.

Like parts are indicated by like symbols throughout the specification and drawings.

Referring to the drawings, I generally indicates an automobile hood, and 2 a hood closure, which may be hinged or otherwise movably secured at its rear end, a hinge 3being diagrammatically illustrated. It will be understood, hoW- ever, that in general some type of multiple or lever arm hinged structure may be employed Since the details of the hinge do not of themselves form part of the present invention, the

hinge 3 will be considered as merely a diagrammatic illustration of a hinge for movably supporting the rear end of the closure 4 illustrates an instrument panel, upon which may be mounted any suitable control button 5, connected to the wire structure 6, whereby, as will later appear, a pull on the button 5 actuates the below described latch. Referring for example to Fig. 3, 1 illustrates a combined centering member and latch keeper, which may for example have a spearhead la terminating at its upper end in a latching ledge 8. The spearhead shaft 1 may be secured to a plate or support 9,

which in turn is mounted in any suitable manner upon the closure 2. A lower plate or support, generally indicated as it, is mounted in any suitable fashion on the hood I, in vertical alignment with the support 9. It is apertured as at H to v receive the end of the spearhead and is further apertured as at l2 to permit the penetration therethrough of a, safety latch l3, pivoted as at M upon the support 9. The safety latch does not of itself form part of the present invention and will not be further described.

I5 is a spring, herein shown as coiled about the keeper stem 1 and compressed between the support 9 and a cup 16, and which has a bottom flange l'l adapted to engage the upper face of the support It. It will be understood that when the closure 2 is in raised position, the cup I6 is thrust by the spring downwardly about the head la, and its upper flange i8 serves as a stop for limiting its further downward movement along the stem 1. When the parts are in the closed position, the spring I5 is compressed, and when the below described latch structure is released, itis effective to raise the closure 2 a slight distance I above the hood I and to raise the latch ledge 8 of the spearhead la up out of alignment with the latch blade 26, which is slidably movable in any suitable guide 2|, formed or mounted in the lower side of the support H3. The raising of the closure 2 is also effective to permit the operator to reach in and manually release the safety catch l3, which would otherwise engage a side of the aperture l2 and prevent any further lifting of the closure 2.

In order to actuate the latch bolt we provide the following structure: A lever 22 is pivoted as at 23 to the bottom of the support I0. It has a bent end 24, which passes through a supporting strap or loop 25, also secured to the bottom of the support In. At its end it has an upwardly turned flange 26, as shown in detail in Figs. 7 and 8, which extends into an upward bulge or offset 21 of the support H), which offset is provided with an aperture 28, for easy access to the end of the lever. The flange 26 has an aperture 29,

which is flattened at top and bottom, as shown in Fig. 8, and which receives a fitting 39 having a neck 3|, which penetrates and generally conforms in form to the aperture 29, but leaves suflicient play for slight oscillation in a horizontal plane. The neck portion 3| is provided at its opposite end with a head 32, to keep the parts together, ,as shown in Fig. 7.

The wire 6a of the wire structure 6 extends through; a guide portion 33 of the support It), as shown in Fig. 7, where the outer coil of the wire is secured by any suitable clamp 34. The end of the wire 6a passes through the member 3i! and may be adjustably secured thereto, as by any suitable set screw 35. The result is an adjustable connection between the end of the lever 22 and the wire, which may easily be made and adjusted, as the set screw 35 is accessible through the aperture 28. The connection is effective since it permits a relative oscillation of the member 30. in relation to the flange 2B, which prevents any perceptible excess strain on the wire 6a and reduces or prevents fatigue and breakage; The flattening or shoulder of the fitting 30 and of the opposed portions of the aperture 29 prevents rotation of the fitting in relation to the lever and insures that the set screw will upwardly face so that the set screw head will be readily accessible through the aperture 28. This is particularly advantageous in assembly line practice in automobile plants, since the workman can readily thread the wire 6a or its equivalent through the central aperture of the fitting 33 and then, insert and tighten the set screw 35 to make a. proper adjustment of the wire 5a in relation to. the lever 22. The fact that the set screw and the aperture to receive it are always in alignment with the aperture 28 in the plate ill is a great convenience and time saver on the assembly line.

The lever 22 is held normally in the full line position of Fig. 4, by the spring 40, one end of which is secured to the lever 22 and the other to an oilset ear 4| of the plate Ill. The slide 29 is normally thrust into the latching position in which it is shown in full line in 4 by an additional lever 4|, which may be pivoted concentrically' with the lever 22, as at 23, and which in turn is normally urged to latching position by the coil spring 42, one end of which is secured to the lever 4|" and the other to an offset ear 43 of the plate H3. The lever 4| is provided with an upwardly extending lug 44, which penetrates a slot 45 in; the guide 2|, and also an aperture 45 in the latch slide 20. It will be understood that normally the spring 42 is effective to urge the lever 4| into latching position and thereby to hold the latching edge 41 of the latch slide 20 in the position in which it is shown in Fig. 3, thus being in engagement with the locking face 8 of the spearhead la of the combined centering member and keeper 1. It will be observed that there is no limiting connection between the levers 22 and 4| which would prevent the lever 4| from receding when the conic face of the spearhead 7a strikes the latch slide 2%. Thus, the operator in the car does not have to move the latch 20 to releasing position in order to lower the hood closure. All that is necessary is to lower the closure 2 and when the conic face of the spearhead la hits the edge 41 of the latch 20, it moves it and the lever 4| rearwardly to the position shown in full line in Fig. 4, after which the spring 42 snaps the latch 20 back into the full line position of Fig. 3. In the course of this operation there is no movement of the lever 22 or of the wire, or of the control member 5.

If the operator wishes to release the latch, however, it is necessary for him to pull on the knob or manual member 5, whereupon the wire 5a is drawn through the conduit 6, and is efiective to give the lever 22 a clockwise rotation,: referring to the position of the parts in which they are shown in Fig. 4. The result of this clockwise rotation is to bring an offset lug 55, formed on the lever 22, into contact with an edge or other part of the lever 4|, thus moving the latch slide 20 to releasing position. The spring I5 is thereupon elfective to move the spearhead out of alignment with the latch slide 20, and a momentary pull on the handle 5 is all that is necessary. The spring |5 thereafter lifts the hood 2 slightly, and the outside operator, garage attendant or the like, can reach in and release the safety latch l3 and' raise the hood.

In the form of Fig. 10 and following we employ but a single lever in the place of the two levers 22 and 4|. We illustrate, for example, the unitary lever 69, pivoted as at El, and urged to the latching position as by the spring 62. The lever is provided with a hump 63, which engages a downwardly projecting lug or flange 64 on the latch slide 35. The latch bolt 65 is guided in any suitable guide member 66, which is downwardly bulged out in the middle, as at 61, in Fig. 14, and which has an upwardly bent end portion 68 which penetrates an accommodating slot 69 in the latch slide (55. The adjacent portion of the plate Illa is upwardly bulged, as at 70, which, with the downward bulge 61, provides a housing for a spring H which is located within the slot 69, one

end of which abuts against the end of the slot 12, and the other end of which abuts against the upper projection 63, which penetrates the slot 69. Thus, the spring tends to thrust the latch bolt 65 to latching position. It may be moved from latching position by the engagement of the hump- 63 of the lever 6!] with the flange 64 of the bolt 65, andthis takes place only when the operator pulls on the wire. However, it will be observed that the latch bolt 65 is otherwise free to move and will override the spearhead 711 when the hood is closed.

In Fig. 11 the lever is illustrated in dotted line position, which is the position it takes when the operator pulls on the handle 5 and moves the latch slide positively by the use of the wire. The Slide is shown in full line position as indicating that it can be moved to the released position by merely overriding the spearhead, without any consequent movement of the lever 60 Referring to Figs. 15, 16 and 17, we illustrate a further variation in which a latch bolt BI] is employed which is similar to 65 except for the omission of the slot 69 and the inclusion on the fiange 8| of a securing ear 82, which receives the end of a spring 83, the inner end of which is secured to an ear 84 formed on the flange 85 of the guide member 85.

The guide members 21 and 65 are provided with similar flanges Zla and 66a, respectively, the semi-circular portions of which are in alignment with the aperture I l of the supporting plate I!) or Illa, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3.

It Will be realized that, whereas We have described and illustrated a practical and operative device, nevertheless many changes may be made in the size, shape, number and disposition of parts without departing from the spirit of our invention. We therefore wish our description and drawings to be taken as in a broad sense illustrative or diagrammatic, rather than as limiting us to our precise showing.

For example, where we have illustrated the wire 6a, it will be understood that any suitable actuating means may be employed. For example, a'simple wire with spaced bearings or aligning means, or any other suitable tension member, may be used, whereby the operator, by moving the manual member 5 or its equivalent may from within the automobile draw out on the actuating .lever 22 and release the latch. The use and operation of our invention are as follows:

In all forms of the device herein shown we have provided means for readily moving the latch bolt 20 or 65 or 80 to released position by a pull on a handle 5, which controls a wire Also, in each form we illustrate the latch bolt as movable independently of its controlling lever or actuating member in order to recede and ride over the conic head 1a of the combined latch member and keeper 1.

In practice it is impossible for any tamperer to have access to the interior of the hood or hood closure without first getting into the car and pulling the handle 5. The user, when he wishes filling station service, simply pulls on the knob, with the result that the spring l5 slightly lifts the closure 2 and draws the spearhead 1a out of latching alignment with the bolt 29, 65 or 8E1. When the bolt returns after the release of the handle 5, the spearhead has passed beyond it, and the outside operator or attendant canthen reach his hand in beneath the edge of the closure 2 and move the safety latch 13 to release position against its spring l3a, and by the same movement lift the hood upwardly. However, when the attendant wishes to close the hood, he merely pushes it or slams it down, and the spearhead la rides over the latch bolt, and the latch bolt recedes without moving the control lever or levers, and without moving the wire 6a, with the consequent saving of strain and wear and fatigue on the wire and its connection with the lever 22.

We claim:

1. In locking means for an automobile hood having a fixed hood member, and a hinged hood closure therefor, and an apertured aligning plate on the fixed hood member, and a combined keeper and centering member on the hinged hood member adapted to penetrate the aperture of said aligning plate, said keeper and centering member having a locking offset adapted to penetrate below the top surface of said aligning plate, a latch element mounted on said aligning plate in alignment with the keeper receiving aperture thereof and adapted to penetrate above the looking offset of the keeper and centering member when said keeper and centering member is in bottom position, a lever pivoted on said aligning plate, an actuating connection between said lever and said latch'element effective to move said latch element to release position in response to movement of said lever to release position, yielding means adapted normally to urge said lever and said latch element toward latching position,

and means for withdrawing said lever to release position, including a manually operable member within the automobile, a wire extending from said manually operable member to the lever, the wire extending through an aperture in said lever, and a clamp member mounted on said wir and penetrating the aperture in said lever and in tiltable relation therewith.

2. In locking means for an automobile hood having a fixed hood member, and a hinged hood closure therefor, and an apertured aligning plate on the fixed hood member, and a combined keeper and centering member on the hinged hood member adapted to penetrate the aperture of said aligning plate, said keeper and centering member having a locking offset adapted to penetrate below the top surface of said aligning plate, a latch element mounted on said aligning plate in alignment with the keeper receiving aperture thereof and adapted to penetrate above the looking offset of the keeper and centeringmember when said keeper and centering member is in bottom position, a lever pivoted on said aligning plate, an actuating connection between said lever and said latch element effective to move said latch element to release position in response to movement of said lever to release position, yielding means adapted normally to urge said lever and said latch element toward latching position, and means for withdrawing said lever to release position, including a manually operable member within the automobile, a wire extending from said manually operable member to the lever, the wire extending through an aperture in said lever, and a clamp member mounted on said wire and penetrating the aperture in said lever and in tiltable relation therewith, said clamp member being mounted on said lever for rotation in a generally horizontal plane only.

3. In locking means for an automobile hood having a fixed hood member, and a hinged hood closure therefor, and an apertured support on the fixed hood member, and a keeper on the hinged hood member adapted to penetrate the aperture of said support, a lever pivoted on said support, means for actuating it, including a flexible wire secured to an outer portion thereof, and means for holding said wire and lever against relative longitudinal movement, including a connector mounted on said lever, means for preventing relative rotation of said connector and lever while permitting lateral oscillation of th connector, and means for connecting said wire to said connector, including a set screw penetrating said connector, the connector being apertured to permit the passage of the wire therethrough, said set screw penetrating said aperture and being adapted to engag said wire, said support being apertured in line with said connector, the head of said set screw being aligned with said aperture and being adapted thereby for ready access through said aperture.

4. In locking means for an automobile hood having a fixed hood member, and a hinged hood closure therefor, and an apertured aligning plate on thefixed hood member, and a combinedkeeper and centering member on the hinged. hood' member adapted'to penetrate the'aperture ofsaid aligning plate, said keeperand centering member having a locking offset adapted to penetrate below the top surface of said aligning plate, a latch element mountedron said aligning plat in alignment with the keeper receiving aperture thereof and adaptedto-penetrate above the looking ofiset of the keeper and centering member when said keeper and centering member is in bottom position, a lever pivoted on said aligning plate, an actuating connection between said lever and said latch element effective to move said latch element to releas position in response to movement of said lever to release-position, yielding means adapted normally to urgesaid latch element toward latching position, and means for withdrawing said lever to release position, including a manually operable member within the automobile, a wire extending from said manually operable member to the lever, and a clamp member mounted on said wire and penetrating the aperture in said lever and in tiltable relation therewith;

5. In locking means for an automobile hood having a fixed hood member, and a hinged hood closure therefor, and an apertured aligning plate on the fixed hood member, and a combined keeper and centering member on the hinged hood member adapted to penetrate'the aperture of said aligning plate, said keeper and centering member having a locking offset adapted to penetrate below the top surface of said aligning plate, a latch element mounted on said aligning plate in alignment with the keeper receiving aperture thereof and adapted to penetrateabovethe looking offset of the keeper and centeringmember when said keeper and centering member is inbottom position, a lever pivoted on said aligning plate, an actuating connection between said lever and said latch element effective tomove said latch element to release position in response to movement of said lever torelease position, yielding means adapted normally to urge said latch element toward latching position, andmeans for withdrawing said lever to release position, including a manually operable member within the automobile, a wire extending from 

